No Tubes Required

Shimano Ultegra WH-6700

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Shimano was one of the first manufacturers to release tubeless road wheels. Its first model, the Dura-Ace WH-7900-C24-TL, became a popular­ choice, but it was expensive. To meet the needs of value-oriented­ cyclists, the company followed up with the Ultegra 6700 wheelset. It’s 188 grams heavier, but half the price. As with all Shimano wheels, the aluminum axles roll on loose-ball angular-contact bearings. The hubs are laced to the aluminum­ rims with bladed, butted spokes. The nipples don’t pierce the rim’s anodized inner wall, so there’s no need for a rim strip.

Despite aluminum’s ability to resist corrosion when anodized, Shimano does not recommend the use of sealant with its wheels. Still, to test the technology’s ability to resist flats, we ran our Hutchinson Fusion 3 tires with about two ounces of sealant. At the end of our short test, there was no visible corrosion—and we had experienced no flats. However, Shimano won’t replace your wheels under warranty if sealant corrosion harms your rims.

These wheels are rigid, but not uncomfortable; they’re light, but there are many lighter wheels. For their price, the Ultegra wheels perform well. They spin up to speed fairly quickly, feel solid when you’re stomping on the pedals out of the saddle, and have a nice machined brake track that helped us slow down from high speeds. —Ron Koch